SINGAPORE: 1MDB, Malaysia's former sovereign wealth fund, is suing corporate services provider Amicorp Group and its CEO, Toine Knipping, for over US$1 billion.
The lawsuit, filed on December 20, accuses Amicorp of facilitating fraudulent transactions amounting to over US$7 billion between 2009 and 2014.
The claims focus is allegations of fraudulent trading, dishonest assistance in breaches of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to commit unlawful acts, according a statement released today.
The legal action, which is being brought in the British Virgin Islands against eight Amicorp entities, is part of a global effort to recover assets stolen from 1MDB.
Amicorp is alleged to have played a crucial role in laundering the stolen funds allegedly through a global network spanning Singapore, Barbados, Curacao, Hong Kong, and the British Virgin Islands.
It is also alleged that Amicorp provided access to the global financial system via Amicorp Bank, a bank registered in Barbados.
It is also alleged that Amicorp provided fund entities and banking services to allow for the repeated cycling of assets through the claimants, such as to fraudulently lay a paper trail, giving the impression that 1MDB's assets had been invested and generated returns when in fact they had been misappropriated.
The lawsuit seeks to hold Amicorp accountable for its role in the misappropriation of 1MDB's assets and to recover the stolen funds.
"We are bringing this action to seek justice for the role we allege Amicorp played in facilitating the laundering and ultimate dissipation of billions of dollars in stolen funds. We allege this was achieved through the creation of structures designed to purposefully obscure the theft, and that Amicorp deliberately and knowingly created complex structures to mask the stolen monies as assets and make them difficult to trace," a spokesperson for the 1MDB board said of the legal action.
"There is, in our view, strong evidence to suggest that Amicorp – at the highest levels – knew they were involved in a dishonest and illegal money laundering scheme designed to transfer large sums of cash away from its intended beneficiary - the people of Malaysia," it added.
Amicorp has faced regulatory action and fines in multiple countries for compliance failures and breaches of anti-money laundering laws.
1MDB and its subsidiaries are represented by Baker & Partners (BVI) Limited, Tom Smith KC of South Square Chambers and James Bailey of 7 King's Bench Walk.
Lim Chee Wee Partnership, of Kuala Lumpur, act as global coordinating counsel for all 1MDB-related asset recovery efforts.